Jason Koumas inspired Cardiff's recovery from two goals down with a stunning second-half brace to earn Dave Jones' play-off chasers an unlikely point.

Rowan Vine put Luton in control at the break as Mike Newell's side bounced back from their heaviest defeat of the season at Preston with two goals inside 60 seconds.

But Koumas unleashed a 25-yard thunderbolt out of nowhere to haul Cardiff back in it and although Luton restored their two-goal lead courtesy of Chris Barker's own goal,

Riccardo Scimeca headed his first goal of the season and another long-range Koumas effort rescued the Welshmen.

Luton goalkeeper Marlon Beresford resumed in goal after having his dismissal in the 5-1 thumping at Deepdale rescinded, while midfielder Peter Holmes, out since Boxing Day, returned to the bench.

Cardiff boss Jones recalled Koumas to his starting line-up following suspension, dropping Willie Boland to the bench.

Luton were first on the offensive, Kevin Foley's eighth-minute shot from the right of the penalty area well held by Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Alexander, before Steve Howard's 20-yard effort flew narrowly wide.

Howard, from 20 yards again, and Vine, with a lob from similar distance, further tested Alexander before Vine grabbed two goals in a minute.

First he headed home Dean Morgan's left-wing cross beyond Alexander in the 25th minute, and almost immediately raced on to Carlos Edwards' pass from the right to clip the ball into the opposite corner.

Cardiff tried desperately to regroup and responded with Koumas firing a free-kick into the wall, while Beresford was alert to a stinging drive from Kevin Cooper.

But Vine, chasing his hat-trick, flashed another shot just wide from 12 yards as Luton finished the half on top.

Hatters midfielder Dean Morgan went close minutes after the restart with a rasping drive, while Cardiff's Cameron Jerome drilled a 25-yard effort over the crossbar at the other end.

Koumas then put an entirely different complexion on the game 10 minutes after the restart, the Welsh international unleashing a 25-yard drive that flew into the top corner.

But soon after Luton restored their two-goal lead. Vine escaped down the right and when he whipped the ball across goal Barker, under pressure from Ahmet Brkovic, steered the ball into his own net.

Beresford was alert to Jerome's fierce snap-shot as Cardiff refused to lie down before Riccardo Scimeca pegged the Hatters back again with a header from Neal Ardley's looping cross in the 71st minute.

Then Joe Ledley's left-footed shot from 12 yards hit the crossbar as Cardiff threatened to turn the game on its head.

Morgan then saw his shot blocked by Jeff Whitley and Brkovic forced Alexander into a smart save from Edwards' cross as the action flowed.

But Koumas then stepped forward again to earn Jones' side a crucial point with another fine long-range shot, this time a low, fizzing effort from the edge of the area into the bottom corner with four minutes left.

Teams:

Luton Beresford, Foley, Davis, Heikkinen, Barnett, Edwards,Nicholls, Brkovic, Morgan (Holmes 82), Vine, Howard.

Subs Not Used: Perrett, Showunmi, Stevens, Brill.

Booked: Barnett.

Goals: Vine 25, 26, Barker 60 og.

Cardiff Alexander, Barker, Ardley, Purse, Cox, Koumas, Ledley,Cooper (Whitley 64), Scimeca, Jerome,Ndumbu-Nsungu (Ferretti 82).

Subs Not Used: Weston, Boland, Margetson.

Booked: Scimeca.

Goals: Koumas 55, Scimeca 71, Koumas 86.

Att: 7,826

Ref: K Woolmer (Northamptonshire).